Magnet holder

Abstract

A permanent magnet assembly for use in a therapeutic product comprising four disk magnets held in an edge-to-edge array with a steel washer as an armature under the four magnets. The holder for the magnetic parts comprises two integrally joined sheets of flexible plastic such as PVC, one sheet constituting a body having indentations forming cavities sized and shaped for the magnetic parts, and the other sheet constituting a cover folded over and sealed to the body sheet around the indentations to hold the magnetic parts in place. Four alternative embodiments comprise single-magnet arrays with flat magnets of different shapes held in holders similar to the holder of the first embodiment but with cavities that are the same shapes as the single-magnet arrays.

I claim as my invention:  
     
       1. In a magnet assembly including an array of disk-shaped permanent magnets having flat sides and narrow edges and arranged in edge-to-edge relation, and an armature disposed against said array in contact with corresponding flat sides of said magnets, a sealed, flexible magnet holder, comprising: 
       a first sheet of flexible plastic having a first indentation defining a plurality of side-by-side first cavities in one side of the sheet, said cavities being of substantially the same size and shape as said magnets and receiving and holding the magnets in the edge-to-edge array;  
       said first sheet having a further indentation in said first indentation defining a second cavity underlying said first cavities, said second cavity being of substantially the same size and shape as the armature and holding the latter under and against the magnets;  
       a second sheet of flexible plastic overlying said first sheet and covering said cavities, said sheets being opposite end portions of a single elongated sheet and joined together by an integral fold;  
       and means sealing said first and second sheets together around said first indentation thereby to hold the magnet array in sealed, assembled relation.  
     
     
       2. A holder as defined in claim  1  wherein said first sheet has thermoformed indentations forming said cavities. 
     
     
       3. A holder as defined in claim  1  wherein said flexible plastic is PVC. 
     
     
       4. A holder as defined in claim  1  wherein said indentation defines four lobe-shaped cavities arranged around a central post, and said sheets have flat engaging surfaces sealed together around said cavities. 
     
     
       5. A holder as defined in claim  1  wherein the armature and said second cavity are annular in shape. 
     
     
       6. A holder as defined in claim  1  wherein said first and second sheets are generally rectangular in shape. 
     
     
       7. For use in combination with a permanent magnet array, a flexible holder for the array adapted to be sealed in water-tight relation around the array for use in a therapeutic product, said holder comprising: 
       first and second flexible plastic sheets composed of heat-sealable material constituting a body sheet and a cover sheet, respectively;  
       said body sheet having at least one indentation forming a cavity for receiving the magnet array and holding the array in a selected position relative to the body sheet, said cover sheet overlying the indentation and covering the cavity;  
       said sheets having flat opposing surfaces extending around the indentation to be heat-sealed together after the magnet array is placed in the cavity.  
     
     
       8. A holder as defined in claim  7  wherein said holder is for use with a magnet array that constitutes at least one flat magnet of preselected size and shape, and the indentation has the same size and shape as the array. 
     
     
       9. A holder as defined in claim  7  wherein said holder is for use with a magnet array that has a preselected number of magnets of a preselected size and shape arranged in flat edge-to-edge relation, and said indentation defines said preselected number of cavities of substantially the same preselected size and shape in edge-to-edge relation, said cover sheet overlying the body sheet and covering said cavities to seal the cavities when the sheets are heat-sealed after a magnet array is placed in the cavities. 
     
     
       10. A holder as defined in claim  7  wherein said body and cover sheets are the opposite end portions of a single elongated flexible sheet and are integrally joined together by a fold.